


Mauling

by Seleniax



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: All the time, Alternate Universe - Rugby, But therapy has been had, F/F, F/M, FTW, Fluff and Smut, Horse Jokes, I'll tag more when I figure it out, Levi is sweetheart, Light BDSM, Light-Heartedish, M/M, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse and Rape, Switching, Teasing, eren is a sweetheart, ereri, full speed ahead, nerd jokes, some sad and light angst moments, they just want love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-16 08:25:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7260037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seleniax/pseuds/Seleniax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As captain of the Scouts, his nations best ranked rugby team, Levi has dealt with his fair share of shit when it comes to SOs. Bad dates, worse ex-boyfriends, no solid relationship found him.</p><p>Then came in Eren. Someone completely unexpected, someone not even on his usual list of potential dates. </p><p>But maybe it was for the better that they weren't each others usual type.</p><p>In other words, the typical Nerd and Jock love story, but its so not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. On the Start

**Author's Note:**

> Bare with me:  
> Sooo, it's been a long time since I've posted my stories, and my first on this site. I have stories on fanfic.net, and sadly they have been on hiatus for years, in completely different fandoms. I am hoping that by working on other stories, I can rev up the engine, and get the motivation to finish old stories, that I frankly love but just lost my way when I found life and too many writing blocks. Though, supposedly my writing style has changed over the years (I still have no idea what that freaking means, and I've been doing this since the start of the millennium), maybe it's improved.  
> Not sure.  
> Forewarning, this is going to be a fairly light hearted story. I've personally been down in the dumps for much too long, and reading all these wonderful but too angsty stories aren't helping much. That being said, there will obviously be some conflict. And a little bit of dark. I'll be brushing up on certain **triggers** like panic attacks, abuse, rape, assault, homophobia, violence against homophobia, but I won't be hard core dwelling in it.
> 
> I repeat, mostly happy, sappy, fluff, attempt at smut - I've written it before, but I've never posted it, so, this'll be interesting. It's also my first same sex relationship I've written, so please tell me if it's realistic-ish with all the sap I'm putting into it.
> 
> To any who find Levi’s opinion of what consisted of a sport offensive, please remember, that is Levi’s opinion. That is not in any way everyone else’s opinion.
> 
> Also, yes, he is a sweetie.
> 
> Basically I am flat out challenging myself, so please, feedback or constructive criticism is appreciated.
> 
> Chapters alter between Eren and Levi POV, and I'm trying to stick in 3rd person. I will try to show the change in their mental state as I write. Also, this is **less emphasis** on sport and more on the relationship. I like rugby, I enjoy it, I'm not going to talk your ear off about it.
> 
> I hope you enjoy, darlings.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get Ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: 1 of probably thousands  
>  **Context NEEDED: This AU is not based in our world. It is based in in its own little universe. They do, however, have access to the same things we have, and our same pop culture and movies and such, that all reside in THIS universe. So, there is going to be differences. Like geographic locations, and religion:**
> 
> **The Three Sisters refers to Maria, Rose, and Sina. In this world, they are goddesses, and any expletive or cursing will be using these three.  
>  There is also the Wallists (which usually goes into the Three Sisters, but for the sake of this story, they are separate belief systems), and the Cult - but neither of these will be coming up. I don't think.**
> 
> **I did this purely for the feel of what felt right to me. Different worlds and places means different religions and beliefs. I am purely using what comes from the fandom itself.**

Waking up an hour before the ass crack of dawn was actually a normal part of his balanced diet.

Interacting nicely with other, due to a fucking asshole of a coach, was not part of his well rounded daily routine.

The only part of this whole fuck up of a situation, was that the rest of the team was also suffering with the enraged captain, Hanji was not here, and the office kitchen they were loitering in at the moment was gloriously stocked with any kind of food or beverage they would ever want, need, or experiment with. Levi was fairly certain that their guide had joked about the building being prepared for a 5 year siege or an apocalypse, and he could actually believe it, as this was apparently just one of several of the visitors kitchens, decorated to express the atmosphere of the facilities' workers on the walls; appliances, even food containers, walls and tables decked out in some homage to anime, video games, or shows they liked. Even the mug containing the tea was a blue telephone booth that said police box on it.

'Gamers...' Levi scoffed softly to himself, sipping at the earl grey that Erwin had immediately prepared upon arrival when they found out the meeting had been delayed, and the bulking forms of the large team were tucked away until needed. Or whoever had their head up their ass kindly removed it from the portal and quit wasting Levi's time. And the teams. Erwin could go suck a lemon at the moment. Or squirt the juice into his eye.

The only reason they were here in nerdvana, was because the rugby league had decided that they wanted a video game. While their sport was not as huge as some, like football, those pussy footers, both confused versions of it, rugby was high up there, in Levi's opinion, because it fucking mattered, by far more respectable and actually filled with honorable sportsmen like conduct, most of the time. Hockey and lacrosse were next on his list that fit the bill of what made a sport. They didn't need to sell out, they had a solid loyal following, but no, this wasn't good enough for the corporate cock bites, and their bottom line.

Two weeks ago, the deal finally came through and the gaming company that won the bid announced they would start preparing, and was conveniently placed in Trost, the home of the leagues best nationally ranked team, the Scouts. It was only yesterday that Erwin informed Levi and the team that they would be going to the company’s office during morning practice so that the team could 'get cultured' and see the beginning of the process, and something to do with pictures.

Levi may have stopped listening at the point between "you're all going, even you, Levi" and "Hanji isn't joining us, so you can stop throwing towels at me". While the excursion was cutting into practice from their schedule, it was giving him a few hours reprieve from their team's physician and self-proclaimed Levi's best friend until the end of days. He had put his phone on silent this morning because he knew she would be sobbing into the receiver about not being allowed to go, and not being permitted to rejoin her brethren. In the half hour they were there, the 40 minute traffic congested commute from down town to upper tier, the 10 minutes to locate and organize everyone onto the bus, and the hour he was awake prior, she already called 45 times, left 17 voice mails, and was working on text number 83. This was almost as bad as the time they accidentally left her behind after losing the play offs for the international games and world cup. He actually felt a twinge of guilt for Shitty Glasses knowing she would be in heaven here. Then again, she wouldn't shut up if she was, and the feeling died down to an acceptable numbness.

Mike groaned in the seat across from him, stretching out his ridiculously large tree trunk arms above his head, and Levi could hear the pop of his back as the shaggy and short dirty blonde hair swayed side to side as he tilted his head to stretch neck muscles. Off to the side, Gunther quipped, "Yeah, I agree with Mike, Erwin. What the hell is taking so long?" The blond smirked as he took a sip of his coffee, and their oh so brilliant coach stood from his seat by the door, a slight frown pulling his massive eyebrows together to form one unit. Huh, the schedule was off, and even he was unhappy. Good.

Before Erwin could go through the doorway, a much shorter and leaner platinum blond had been stepping in at the same time, bumping into the wall of muscle and slicked back tawny hair. A quiet squeak gathered the room’s attention, “Oh, excuse me!”

Erwin took a half step back, his trade mark charming smile in place and blue eyes calculating as he took in the new comer, his voice smooth and low, “Excuse me.”

Levi could not roll his eyes hard enough at the obvious flirting Erwin was preparing to do, but the shorter male, though blushing, quickly regained composure, inquired, “Coach Smith?” 

Their coach extended his hand, “Call me Erwin. And you are?”

The blond shook his hand, but kept professional, nodding curtly now that the red left his face, going straight to business, “Arlert. We apologize for the delay. If you would all follow me, we can head to the board room. You’re welcome to refresh your drinks and bring them with, and any snacks you would like.”

There was a mad scramble as the players stood up, putting their chairs back in as several of them went to the fridge and cupboards, and Levi topped off his mug with surprisingly still hot water, and a new tea bag, along with a bunch of shortbread stuffed into the pockets of his uniform track jacket. That shit was addictive and despite being well off, he believed it was their payment for taking up his time. Farlan was stuffing his pockets full of various candies and sweets that would undoubtedly be delivered to one very pregnant Isabel.

The blonds waited by the door as everyone filed in line to get moving, and Levi took his spot at the front to get them walking. Erwin, even with his over sized legs, had to double time in order to keep in step with the lithe angelic blond that was guiding them. Their poor coach just didn’t understand rejection, as he kept his charm on as he asked, “May I ask what took so long?”

The young man next to him didn’t even turn his head as he answered, “Our lead designer and team lead got into an accident this morning, out on the highway as they were driving into the city. Thankfully it’s nothing too severe, but as I understand from our superiors, he’ll be out of commission for some time.”

Levi understood what that meant, as he was sure Erwin did. They’d have to deal with some dumbass who had to pull everything together in the last 30 minutes. Fuck, he hopes this doesn’t mean they need to come back repetitively. Eyebrows responded, ever diplomatic, “I am sorry to hear that, I hope everything goes well.”

They were led through a corridor and up two flights of stairs, and down another long hall that showed open offices and gathering areas, decorations all over the place, people milling about, many blatantly staring and gawking at the ruggers passing through quietly. It was an understandable reaction, Levi’s team was consisted of males of all heights and builds, but over all, pure muscle. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a guy repeatedly hitting his coworker’s arm with bug eyes and open mouth.

Eventually little blondie stopped and opened a door, calling into the room as he held the handle, “Eren.”

Erwin motioned to take the door, but his new, uncooperative, prey smiled and waved him in first. Eyebrows conceded and his players followed into the room. It wasn’t a typical board room, more like a wayward living room. The walls were a muted gold, and one wall consisted of floor to ceiling windows that were shaded somehow to give the room lighting, but not blinding anyone, providing the room with a warm glow. There was a bar of snacks and drinks, with a sink and fridge along the wall by the door. The room was filled with chairs of all types; a couple sofas, armchairs, office chairs, gaming chairs, bean bags, a chaise, and hammocks in the corners. The only tables were coffee tables or end tables. Entering even further into the room, there were folded tables to the side, and what looked like lap tables. On the walls were various art sketches, lots of sticky notes and dry erase boards, a good chunk covered in writing, drawings, or what looked like panels.

For a company dealing in technology, it did not appear very technical. Levi had to double check if they even had electricity running in the room.

As his eyes scanned he came across the sight of a lone figure inside, standing at the back board, writing something out in bright purple. Levi was unable to not stare at the gods send of an ass that was perfectly complimented by the dark wash jeans the male was wearing. He had narrow hips, and his tight long sleeved white Henley shirt showed broad shoulders, lean muscles, and tan skin that appeared to be melting in the morning light like dark honey topped off with windswept and short chestnut colored hair.

A chuckle behind him from Mike got his ass to move and pick one of the arm chairs that hadn’t been taken yet by the others. If it happened to be in direct view of something inspiring, he had no qualms. Erwin settled into an arm chair next to his, the charming smile slightly downturned. It made Levi want to shake little blondie’s hand. The door closed with a soft click and the marker was given a lid in the silence, and pivoting in a smooth motion, the backside turned to show the front. 

**Fuck**

_It got better._

The male was pure perfection, sweet faced and just the right amount of rugged, a brilliant white and crooked grin stretching his face, bangs dangling in front of the most entrancing eyes Levi had ever seen – blue? – green? The light dancing in them and igniting flecks of gold as passion seemed to just flood out of the young man. A gold antique key sat on his sternum with a simple leather cord. His voice was friendly, bright, welcoming,

“Good morning, I’m Eren Jӓger, team lead and lead designer. I apologize for the long delay this morning, and for biting into your busy schedule.”  
Levi was fairly certain he stopped breathing.

“That’s quite alright, Mr. Jӓger, Mr. Arlert informed us of the circumstances.” Erwin replied back on behalf of the team. The brunet’s smile faltered for a few seconds, eyes downcast as worry flickered across his face, before his previous enthusiasm came back though a little muted, “Yes. Anyways, just call me Eren, please. We’ll try to make this quick and painless so we won’t disturb you any further today. Did you bring your team roster?”

Erwin extended his hand out and the little piece of heaven strode over, plucking the paper with long finger and then gliding away to the folded tables. He grabbed a long one with a white surface, and as he went to hoist it up, Eld, being the closest, stood from his bean bag and did it for him and the angel just blinked, confused, but shrugged it off, “Thanks, if you could set it up on that wall long ways, that’d be great.”

Erd did as requested, and Eren called to his companion, “Hey, Ar, did you bring the camera?”

“Yeah, let me fix the lighting.” Came the response from the back of the room. The windows shaded further, and a row of spot lights lit by the board and table. The brunet and blond came into view with a hooded light fixture and reflector, positioning everything. Eren turned around again, glancing at the list, “Alright, we’ll start from the bottom. Zacharius?”

Mike placed his mug on a coffee table, shucking his jacket and stepped over, dwarfing the two younger males whom both didn’t even bat an eye at the difference. Levi used their proximity to Mike to gage their height. Little blond looked Levi’s height, about 5’3” or 4”, but was lithe where Levi had a broader back and shoulders and thicker thighs. And he looked androgynous, his round face giving a permanent look of innocence with those huge baby blues. Eren appeared a little taller than Levi, but not by much.

“Please stand in front of the table, and we’ll need you to spin very slowly in a circle a couple times, and keep your expression neutral. Like mug shot style.” That earned a couple soft huffs of laughter from the audience, and Mike did as told while one filmed and a camera flashed constantly, and Eren somehow had a tablet in hand while holding a camcorder. Mike then had to show expressions of ‘smile’ and ‘game face’, on top of ‘lost’, ‘sweet victory’, and ‘pissed’. They eventually let him go, and went down the alphabetical list, efficient and well paced, until it finally reached Levi. He stood, handing his mug to Erwin as he took off his own jacket, and quietly walked over to the pair. Eren went through the same spiel, and Levi was a little agitated that those orbs weren’t on him. He commented dryly as he was turning to face the wall, “Aren’t you a bit young to be leading this whole project?”

He mentally beat the ever loving shit out of himself over with a cleat. That was not what he wanted to say. At all. 

He was met with silence as the camera continued to flash, and as he turned around he noticed those large teal eyes on him, not angry like he suspected, but amused. Eren shot back, his tone teasing, “Well, last week was puberty, maybe this week I’ll grow a chest hair.”

Levi was pretty sure he was dead. His heart stopped. Or was going way too fast.

All too soon, his turn was done, and that was everything they needed from the team, as far as he was aware. He desperately wanted to find a way to stay. As Arlert set the lights back to how they were when they got there, Eld put the table back as Gunther and Oluo put the camera equipment where Eren directed it.

As Levi shrugged back on his jacket, silently mourning the loss of getting to know the gorgeous young male, Erwin spoke up, “Is that all you’ll need?” Eren shook his head, biting his lip. “For today, yes. Later in the project we’ll need voices, but that’s months down the line.”

The coach inquired further, as if leading him in the right direction slowly, “Do you need our schedule so you can gather game footage?”

Eren’s eyes widened a fraction, “Yes, please, as well as your contact information. My predecessor has it, but it’s-"

Erwin raised his hand, smiling kindly as he took out a business card and handed it over, “Just send me an email and I’ll give you the schedule.” Eren nodded, smiling brightly.  
“Thank you, Erwin. If you follow Ar, he’ll take you back downstairs so we won’t keep you.”

The two shook hands, and Eyebrows led everyone out. Levi’s last sight of Eren was sitting in the hammock and pulling out the magic tablet again, typing fast on its smooth surface. No one said anything until the bus was on its way out of the parking lot to begin the trek back to the stadium.

“So, should we just book the venue for them now? Usually it takes a year in some places.”

“Oh! Should it be indoors or outdoors?”

“Not a country club, Levi hates those.”

“Crap, we’ll have to find out if Jӓger’s religious.”

Levi snapped, “How about the ocean, so I can toss you shits in it!”

Instead of fear, he got a bunch of laughs thrown his way by his disrespectful team, and he grumbled to himself as they played around on their phones.  
They could all go suck on lemons. And run 20 laps.

“Oh look! A resort! Indoors and outdoors venue available on the beach for indeterminate weather is available.”

Make it 50.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like all writers, I exist solely on caffeine, self criticism, and love.  
> Send love. Or caffeine.  
> Love would be cheaper.  
> Just saying.


	2. Hummingbird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team goes to film practice. 
> 
> Eren has an issue. Levi helps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I very much appreciated love for the first chapter. I honestly thought it wouldn’t get much. And yes, I am an excited child.
> 
> To those who do not know, **Mauling is an action in rugby**. I don’t know how to really describe it (THUS WHY I AM NOT KEEN TO REALLY PUT A BUNCH INTO THE STORY), but its when the ball carrier is being roughed around by both a teammate and opponent, and they are literally trying to push the ball carrier toward the other goal, always in a forward motion dictated by the two sides. Sometimes its just one on each side. Sometimes its four on each side, and he is still moving, and so are the ones surrounding him. The player can go to ground, but must make the ball available if he is dropped. Typically, of what I’ve seen, when a ball carrier ends up in a maul, he turns towards his teammates to protect the ball. The aim of a maul (several, but the one I see the best purpose) is to find weak points in the opposition resistance and make progress then move the ball to the fringes (back or sides) of the maul so that one of your players can peal off the maul with the ball and create a new phase of play. The maul can never stop for more than 5 seconds, or play is stopped and they restart in a scrum.
> 
> Maybe there is a metaphor in there.

_Turn right in a quarter mile_

“Is it a true right, or are you fucking with me again?” Eren glared at his phone sitting in on the docking stations of his car console. Thus far the crazy phone lady had gotten him lost 4 times this morning as he drove in a section of the city he rarely went to, downtown, as he searched for the sports complex that held multiple massive stadiums and endless parking lots, including the one he had gotten up at 6 in the fucking morning to go join the rugby team for their morning practice. 

Armin and the others were already there at this unholy hour, setting up the various cameras on the field. Everyone had agreed that they’ll deal with gathering most of the footage while Eren would stick near the coach and stands, as even though Eren was more of an artist, he was not to be trusted with most of the heavy equipment. He accepted this with grace yesterday, and throwing a scone at a snickering horse. And according to Armin, the team had already completed their morning run of 10 miles, and it was only breaking 7 AM.

What kind of special breed of monsters were they?

When they came to the office earlier that week, he had been prepared for jocks galore. He had been prepared for rude prima donnas, as was his experience with some other sports teams from other projects he’s done and life experience with a vast majority. So it came as a pleasant surprise that they had all been dressed in their uniform as requested. Krista said they had kept the kitchen orderly and clean, and they were respectful to the staff as they quietly followed Armin to the meeting room, where they followed Eren’s instructions without complaint. It was honestly an easy morning because of them, and a little strange when they had set the room back to how it was before. They even tossed their own trash in the bin, and placed their drinks or mugs on the bar.

_Turn left at Foster Avenue, and then proceed to-_

Eren disconnected the electronic liar as he read the road signs off to the side that clearly stated that Foster was a one way that went **right**. And that the stadium was straight ahead for a half mile. He was going to follow that over the persuasive manipulator any day.

It took him 15 minutes to get through visitor parking, the guard at the gate telling him the best entrance to the stadium for rugby, and after parking by Armin’s little hybrid, he headed towards the next security station. The man at the door was all smiles as he escorted him to the field, or the pitch, he reminds himself as the guard called it. He was exiting the dark tunnel that echoed yells from the stadium, passing into the light, the sun still hidden by the walls but the sky light enough to allow good visual on the field and its occupants. He could see his own crew stationed on the outlines, and one two-tone haired horse the only soul stupid enough to get close to the scrimmaging lines of what appeared to be interlocked bodies. That’s…different, as he noticed heads of the two back lines were between hips and waists and arms were everywhere, and no armor he could tell aside from sparse shin guards. There were various braces he could spot, however, and it wasn’t hard to tell why.

A couple of the men appeared to have cuts and one had a large trail of blood from his knees down to pool on his white sock.

What a friendly sport.

He had never seen the game, and he and his team had been too busy to even read about it or its rules since they had been pulled from their own projects and shoved onto this one. Shadis owed him, getting himself hurt to the point that Eren, who worked in fantasy, historical, and sci-fi genres, was dragged over to sports, because the crazy old bastard recommended him. Eren had a few months in that particular genre when he had interned at the company four years ago as a college junior, as he had every summer until graduation. Shadis had been his intern advisor every time, and put him through hell, but it got him his dream job in the end.

It was not stopping him from cursing the man for making Eren take over on a **sports** game! That he had no clue as to what the hell happened, rules, positions, and the general knowledge someone should have in his position. And according to a very drugged up Shadis, all of the contacts, information, and previous coding was lost, leaving Eren and his team in the dark.

Keeping to the outside of the field, he waved absently at some of his team as he passed to join Armin by a bench and the coach and players in training uniforms. His blond turned to smile apologetically at him, putting down his camera on the bench and grabbed a large coffee cup, holding it out to the late comer. Gratefully, Eren took the offering, nodding to the coach who spared him a glance, and the players that greeted, all with friendly smiles. Eren murmured after a long draught of the luke-warm coffee, “Thanks, Ar.”

His best friend bobbed his head, picking up his camera while inquiring, “Bad traffic? There were a couple accidents this morning on the highway.”

Eren shook his head, taking his phone from the back pocket and waving it a little, “No, the mapping system they are having us test is shit. Got lost a couple times, and the damn thing tried to have me go in the wrong direction on a one way street.”

Armin snorted, “Jean would have told you to take it.” Eren glared at the man on the field, knowing the blond’s statement was accurate, “The horse can go eat hay.”

The players standing on the side lines took a couple glances at them during their conversation, expressions varied in interest, confusion, and amusement. Eren kept his eyes on the field, thoroughly confused as to what was going on. The huddle had ended, and now they were yelling and the bastard child of the football was being passed backwards to the one guy that had snarked at him for being young. Holy shit he was fast, practically flying across the field, dodging taller and beefier players. He then passed the ball directly behind him to a different player, who was tackled and the ball swept up by another. Changing direction, the short man intercepted a meaty brunet in possession of the ball, grabbing the other player around the thighs to lift him and toss him down to the ground.

What the fuck?!

Sweeping his eyes around, no one seemed surprised at all by the action, or concerned about the brutal smack down that just took place. The team on and off the field going about their business, until the whistle blew end of play when the ball, which had rolled away from the tiny monster and got by a teammate, making it to the goal. The black haired man simply held out his hand to help up his teammate, the large man patting his back and _smiling_. They began to line up back into positions on the field.

Eren chugged down another swallow of coffee, putting it on the bench as he moved to pull it out his tablet from his bag, turning it on and opening the app that connected and captured all the camera feeds. Most were doing well, good angles and lighting, but they weren’t taking into account that the sun was rising. “Ar, where’s you walkie?”

“Left cheek.”

Not even bothering to look as he snatched it, unclipping the back so as not to disturb the blond. Raising it to his mouth, he clicked on the call button, “Camera 4, adjust your view, about 25˚ North. Everyone else, keep watch of the lighting, sun is coming up.” He got an immediate response as the camera’s view shifted just enough. He clicked the call button again.

“Hey, horse, clean your fucking lens.”

That got the two-tone haired male moving away from the action, only to pull his walkie out, “It’s clean you ass!” Eren frowned, checking the tablet again, and yep, still a solid streak across his feed. “Then why am I getting splatter on the feed, Sea Biscuit?” He heard Armin sigh softly beside him, used to the two of them, and a few chuckles. A couple of the players were checking over his shoulder to see his tablet. One of them, Zacharius, he remembered, noted quietly, “Looks like blood. Call him over, a regular cloth won’t clean it off. We have some wipes.” 

“Thanks!” Eren smiled at him, lifting the walkie to his mouth again, “Come over to the sidelines, Fru Fru.”

He could just feel Jean’s anger as he cantered over, his tone obnoxious, “It’s clean, you – “ Armin injected himself before the two ended up in a brawl. While the place and crowd were appropriate, the two sometimes forgot that they worked together, and this thing called timing. “You have blood on the lens, Jean, so Eren isn’t reading your feed. Mike, where are those wipes you mentioned?”

The giant already handed them to the new comer, who quickly wiped the camera down as Eren showed him the tablet to ensure he got it all. “Why the hell didn’t you say so earlier, you bastard!” Eren bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep calm, “Just go back to your pasture, horseface.”

Jean flipped him off before returning to the field, the team switching out players to take a break, and Eren examined the feeds again to ensure quality. Mike rumbled beside him, as the other players came to stand near the blond scruffy tower, “Bad break up?”

Eren stared up at the tree ent, confused as to what he meant until the dots connected, and he couldn’t stop the disgusted look on his face from taking over. “Him? Ew. No. Ew. I don’t do bestiality.”

This isn’t the first time that people confused him and Jean as exes, nor for him and Armin to be dating. His blond spoke from beside him to Mike, probably hoping to clear away confusion, “Those two have always been like that, just ignore them.”

The coach, Erwin, asked as he dipped into the conversation, “Always?”

Eren answered, noting the tight line of Armin’s eyes, but not seeing the harm, “We’ve all grown up together.”

“Hardly considering hitting puberty just last week grown up.” Came a smooth voice that edged at deep, located near Erwin. The tone was flat, inflection-less, and could easily be seen as an insult, but as Eren looked into the direction of the raven haired man, something told him it wasn’t. Levi Ackerman. His name was quicker to recall, due in parts to him sharing the same last name as Eren’s sister, and the guy had delivered sarcasm with such a dead pan expression that it was hard to tell if he was playing or if he really did mean it. Just a look into the slate blue-grey eyes, and Eren could read the intended tease.

Grinning back, he raised his pitch to add to the joke, “Well, I just got my driver’s license yesterday! And if my braces come off in time, I’m asking the cutest boy in school to the prom!” 

Asking his then senior year boyfriend Thomas had been the worst idea, ever.

An odd light flashed on the screen, pulling Eren’s attention. He grumbled, raising the radio as he looked up and noticed the team on the field had stopped, “Marco, check on Misty, pretty sure he just got t-boned.” He saw the freckled male in the distance running from his position to Jean’s, who was still lain out on the floor with players around him.  
Marco crouched next to him, raising the walkie to his mouth, voice crackling over the radio in worry, “Eren, he’s out cold.”

No sooner had he said that, Eren dropped the tablet onto his bag and tossed the walkie back to Armin, sprinting across the field. Voices shouted behind him, but he didn’t hear what was said. It didn’t take long to get there, and he kneeled down by a slightly shaking Marco, who looked near tears as his boyfriend didn’t respond. Eren could see why, with the already purpling goose egg on the side of his head and a profusely bleeding nose. It was reminiscent to the times Eren and Jean fought, but neither had knocked each other out for longer than a few seconds, nor scared Marco to this extent. It was hitting over a minute by this point.

“Eren?” Armin’s voice called to get a response from Marco’s radio, gaining the brunet’s attention. Marco called to Jean again, careful not to move his neck, pushing his chest to hopefully get something out of him. Eren replied, taking Marco’s walkie, “Call the ambulance, he’s not –“ 

One of the player’s came forward a half step, interrupting, “We have an in house physician, and some medical equipment here. Have Erwin call for Hanji.”

Accepting the help, Eren changed his statement, “Have Erwin call for someone named Hanji, and to get a gurney and neck brace. Pretty sure he knocked his head on the ground.” There was movement from the sideline but he kept his eyes on the prone form, adjusting his hand to run Marco’s upper back, attempting to comfort the male in his near frantic state even though he was on the edge of panic himself. Jean would murder him if he didn’t take care of the horse’s boyfriend. “Hey, it’s ok, he’ll be fine, probably wake up soon and demand his daily oats.”

That managed to pull a watery smile from the freckled man, but it was short lived as a loud shout pierced the gloomy atmosphere, “Everyone move out of the way!”

Eren took Marco’s hands, standing and dragging him away so the flurry of energy and wild auburn hair could check on the equine. A few players stepped in to help, and he noticed them holding the gurney and sliding it under Jean. The person he assumed was Hanji was doing a quick exam, but stood abruptly, “Alright, bring him back to the clinic,” turning to face the two non-players as two players began heading off field with Jean between them, she said gently, seeing Marco near tears, “He’ll be fine, just taking a short nap. You’re free to join me, ok?” Marco nodded, and Eren patted his shoulder, an encouraging smile stretching his face, “Radio me when he gets up. I can’t wait to hear you bitch him out.”

Marco dipped his head, a half smirk on his face as he followed the brunette to one of the tunnels. Eren ran a shaky hand through his hair, hoping to release his tension and nerves. Of course the idiot would get himself hurt on the first day of filming. And to the point that he wasn’t waking up. Was that serious? They had always been pretty rough when they fought, but the longest he had taken the horse out was maybe 13 seconds, Ymir had counted it. Fuck, how was he hit? No one hadn’t been paying attention. Who told him to go on the field-

He felt fingers brush along his forearm, snapping his head in their direction to see Levi, blank faced as usual but his tone soft, “You ok?”  
Eren was about to lie, it was at the tip of his tongue, heart pounding and ears throbbing, chest on fire as he could only manage shallow breathes, and he did not want to bother the player, but only ended up shaking his head side to side in response. Levi continued, his fingers again on Eren’s forearm, applying a little pressure, as if he knew he needed to pull Eren from his thoughts.

“Let’s get off the field. Arlert looks about ready to go ape shit.”

Eren suddenly remembered, “Camera-“

“Gunther’s got it.” Levi assured, his smooth voice still soft, calming and stable. He kept his hand on Eren, sliding down to his wrist to tow him to get him to move, but after that it was just a connection to another human as Eren’s thoughts tried to run rampant and shut him down, but Levi kept murmuring beside him, telling him that Jean was in good hands. It wasn’t until they were in reach of Armin did Levi let go. The blond saddled up to Eren, not touching, just making his presence known, “Are you alright?”

It was easier to lie to Armin, his best friend, then it was to a stranger. He affirmed, enough sense running through him to respond normally, “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Turning to Erwin he began, “I am so sorry to-“ Erwin lifted his hand slowly, “It’s alright. That’s completely normal around here. People get knocked out all the time. If you would like, we do have a match tomorrow and you are more than welcome to come watch and continue filming.” 

Eren bobbed his head, itching to get moving, “Yes, thank you. We’ll get out of your way shortly.” Armin called on the radio to disassemble, and Eren went to his bag and shut down the tablet to put it away, swiping his phone from the bench where he had left it, shoving it into his back pocket. He was operating on auto pilot, everything dulled out as his heart wouldn’t stop hammering, ears muffling the sound and tunnel vision enclosed him in and fuck his chest hurt again. What if something was seriously wrong with Jean? The fact that he didn’t even make a sound…he wanted to throw up, his throat dry and breath being stolen away and choking him-

Fingers glided on his forearm again, and he chased them to their owner’s face to see those slate blue- grey eyes on him again, narrowed in concern and worry, the area between his thin eyebrows scrunched up a little. His voice was quiet as it had been on the field, and somehow got through Eren's blanketed ears,

“It’s going to be ok.”

And while his heart raged on, his throat wasn’t as constricting, and he stole back a deep breath as this stranger’s thumb ran soothing circles into his arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The panic attack is not drawn out, as I’ve stated. I don’t know about anyone else, but this is based on the one’s I had. It’s not drowning in images, it’s just a focused thread of thoughts that bombard me and layer on top of each other, ridiculous heart palpitations, and hard to catch my breath as my body wants to collapse. If it’s caught on time, I can pull myself out. Just like what happened here, if focus is switched, the symptoms slowly go away.
> 
> And yay commentators!! And coffeesoul, you get me.


	3. Johnny-B-Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Realizing someone was flirting the whole time, and NERD JOKES!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for loves!! It really does brighten up someones day!
> 
> I honestly am not sure how I feel about this chapter. I liked certain content, but eh, it felt awkward, writing, but this was the timeline I had set up, because of the next chapter, which has some Ereri bonding and interaction. I just wanted the two of them to have a light flirt, and get the ball rolling. It probably could have been expanded, but then I had written it more fleshed out, and it sounded like it drawled on forever and that flow had felt even worse.
> 
> If any of you have some advice or critiques, please share.
> 
> Eren's POV again
> 
> I hope you enjoy, darlings!

"Fucking hell, Epona! You were knocked out yesterday, why the hell do you think you are going onto the field?! During a scrimmage!?" Eren yelled at Jean, sitting next to him in the back. Armin was driving the car with Marco in the passenger seat, the two expertly ignoring the hotheads behind them. Armin had decided as work came to a close that he would be driving the carpool over to the stadium after Eren had already sent the rest of the crew ahead for set up before the match.

Jean snorted, arms folding, "I'm fine, you nitwit. Besides, it's not just me on the field today."

As if that solved **anything**.

Yesterday, after Eren was able to breathe again and get control, he had been mortified to realize that almost the entire team had been witness to his minor panic attack. Over a bloody nose and one hell of a bruise that hadn't quite returned to normal, as he eyed it on the horse's head beside him. No one had poked fun at Eren, or even mentioned it, it passed like it wasn't uncommon. Eventually, Levi let go, and Eren excused himself in a most polite fashion of turning tail with an embarrassing red shade coloring the top half of his body. He got lost on his search for the medical clinic in the tunnel, and found himself in a custodial closet. Armin rescued him a few minutes later to steer him to the clinic, entering quietly to find Jean waking up and able to be a spectator of the wrath of Marco. Sadly, it's didn't last long, though the doctor was thoroughly entertained, chuckling along with the peanut gallery. They soon left, and Eren gave the two of them the rest of the day off while he and Armin returned to the office with the others.

Eren didn't even want to come to today's match, just thoroughly distressed from yesterday's complete fuck up with Jean getting hurt and him practically breaking down. Due to certain individuals, however, he was informed that he was expected to be there. Armin and the doctor, Hanji, had at some point exchanged phone numbers, and the crew had been invited to join the team at a local bar near the stadium after the match. Which was apparently a thing with them to do after every game. The invitation had been pre-accepted despite protests, and when Eren threatened to not go, the blond bastard simply stated that he would not fix whatever bug that had latched itself to Eren's home computer. For the glory and protection of the Crystal Empire, the brunet relented grudgingly.

"Eren, just leave it alone. Jean wasn't severely hurt, just banged up." The driver reprimanded in his mothering tone, rolling up the window after getting their special passes from the security guard at the gate. With the blond driving, they arrived quicker and dealt with less traffic.

The equine in question neighed, rolling his eyes, "He's just upset that it wasn't him that knocked me out, Ar. You know it's in our contract."

They had been middle schoolers on their way to high school, and quite possibly tipsy on Armin's granddad's liquor they had sequestered one summer night, which led to the creation of the friendship contract between the hotheads. Copies and amended copies had been made through the years, and reviewed every year. Armin himself had not only been their personal Geneva convention host, but became a legal notary at 18 to make the contract officially legal and binding.

"Yeah, and you almost violated one of the statutes." Eren retorted, glaring out the window.

All four of them knew that none of this had to do with the contract, but let the two bicker about it once they parked and hauled their gear to the special entrance they had used the morning before for quick access. Their escort was the same smiling guard from yesterday, taking them through the maze of halls to the main tunnel that lead to the edge of the field. As Armin had explained earlier that morning, having done a quick read on what was going on, they would be filming a match of Scouts against another team that was lesser known. It was considered a cooperative practice, since they weren't in season, and they didn't earn points or ranking. Fans paid to watch at discounted prices, and with a sweep of the stands, Eren was shocked to see that it was almost half full, and there had still been people outside getting through security and cars at the gate.

Both teams were warming up on the pitch, stretching or some standing around talking. The cameras were set, technicians sitting by for Eren's call, and he could already tell several required adjustments. The four made their way to the bench where Erwin was speaking with Levi, Mike, and another player that Eren thought was Furlan. It was slightly creepy how all of them turned in unison to see now Armin and Eren as they came near, Marco and Jean broke off to get their gear prepared. The coach and players greeted with nods to the blond and brunet once they approached the bench then faced each other, and Eren pulled out his tablet, calling over the radio to get the cameras in position to adjust to the dimming night and the stadium lighting. Armin wandered off to gather artistic shots that Eren had given him a list to complete.

While Armin was the lead in programming and coding on Eren's team, he always went with the team to scout out the artistic inspirations. He understood most of Eren's garbled language and vague requests, but they made solid leads for their crew. Whereas Marco and Jean, who were also on the art side of the team with Eren, sometimes had issues with deciphering what the brunet wanted, his blond was permanently synced into the mind of Jäger.

After he called out the last adjustment, he saw a shadow approach out of the corner of his eye, stepping slowly towards him like a predator. He didn't look up from his tablet until that same calming voice from yesterday asked, "So, how was prom?"

Despite feeling awkward from the day before, Eren could not stop himself from letting out a huff of a laugh, or the smile tugging at his lips. His conversations with this guy, or whatever constituted as conversation with the raven, had thus far consisted of Eren being an embarrassment, and this running joke. And for some reason, he felt completely ok with it, and with him. Relaxed, even. Levi just seemed the type to be stable, with his face constantly set to rbf, and delivering half hearted insults that teased.

"It sucked. Worst date ever. And the theme, horrid. I mean, Enchanted Under the Sea is a bit over used." Eren heard a grunt of agreement beside him, which was followed by the raven’s response, “Did they at least play “Johnny-B-Good”? It's a fucking waste if they didn't use the chance."

Eren was both surprised that the jock got the reference, and at how the smile easily slid onto his own face, replying, "I dressed up as Marty, and I may have practiced the guitar just to play that song. Had to hijack the stage and everything...It was unappreciated, and now that I think about it, my date did dress up as Biff."

And had acted like it too. All of his ex boyfriend's were Biffs.

Levi's nose scrunched up in apparent disgust, "Biff is not the guy for you." The way he said that...he was implying something, but Eren couldn't tell what, but went along with it, "Oh, really? And what's the kind of guy for me?"

The smirk that morphed Levi's face was attractive as hell, especially with the perpetual bedroom gaze his sharp eyes held, and with the slight tilt of his head, he stated matter-of-factly, confidently, "I am."

The whistle blew and the shorter man clicked his tongue, glaring at the ref for his timing. Those slate blue-grey orbs swiveled back to Eren, who couldn't stop staring at the man before him, and the smirk seemed to curl up a little, and with the sharp lines and harsh angles of the pale man, he appeared impish as he added,

"You look good in red."

And then the raven jogged off to join the team on the pitch.

Eren knew he wasn't wearing red today, but the heat of his face told him what the other had meant. The realization made the heat spread to his neck and ears.

The guy had been flirting the whole time? What about yesterday, surely that would have deterred him? Eren hadn't even considered it, Levi wasn't in the confines of Eren's practical mold of a type.

But that wasn't a bad thing...hopefully.

The game had been going a few minutes by the time Armin had completed Eren's task, and he inquired as he quietly stood beside the team leader, "What's up?"

Worrying his bottom lip, Eren felt the blush creep back onto his cheeks, and kept his head down and eyes on the tablet. "Umm...how obvious was it that Levi's been flirting with me?" He knew a pair of baby blues was examining him, taking in details. It didn't take long for Armin to answer, raising the camera up to take a nice shot of the fighting huddle, 

"Right from the minute he walked into the meeting room. He actually stopped to stare at your ass. And he seemed fairly irritated that you wouldn't look at him as we took his photos, so he tried to get a rise out of you. There's also the fact that he attempts to be discrete, but fails to hide his interest in you because he keeps trying to look at you. Pretty sure his whole team knows he has a crush on you."

That answered a few other questions for Eren, but not the one his best friend knew was itching at the brunet. He always appreciated Armin for his observations and straight forward answers, but he never answered the questions Eren didn't want to ask when it came to the mushy stuff, forcing the hothead to elaborate and acknowledge the question, and the possibly hurtful answer.

"Would he be...ok?"

There was a long pause, and the two went about their jobs, Eren calling for adjustments to capture both play and the random positions players took on the pitch. Armin took his time to reply, letting a heavy silence fall between them as he thought over the loaded question and potential consequences. It was almost half time when he finally answered, 

"I can't tell you if he would be worth it, because we've, what, been around him only 3 times? But...maybe. In the limited exposure we've had around him, he appears at least to be decent. His team respects him, that much is obvious to me. And he gets smiles out of you. He doesn't completely fit your usual kryptonite, but that might be a good thing," He had another pause as he crouched down to grab a shot of the player in possession of the ball running by the side lines. Standing, he continued,

"And most importantly, he was able to calm you down while _touching_ you. You don't let anyone do that. It's up to you, but give it a try if you want. He seems to be a fast mover, though, so take that into account."

Eren nodded at Armin's assessment and advice, taking it in for the help it was meant to be. Tapping at one of the feeds that displayed Levi in view, he was yelling something out that felt disjointed from reality when the brunet heard it on the field. The frown, those burning stormy eyes were lit up and directed at his teammates. Observing him on the screen, with only Armin as his witness, he could at least physically admire the man. His movements were powerful and graceful, which seemed contrasting but worked as his muscles contracted, spinning out of a tackle, tossing the ball to the side of the screen. Fast, efficient, powerful, he would be the ultimate character in a video game.

"He got a Back to the Future reference. Told me that Biffs weren't the ones for me." Eren supplied, exiting the screen to view the group of feeds. Armin snorted, a wry smile pulling at his mouth, "I'll have to dust off my tux, but if we don't tell Mikasa, we could probably have a ceremony by next Saturday ready for you two."

Armin received a solid punch in the arm, but he just laughed at the red bleeding onto Eren's face again.

-Time Warp-

The camera crew had packed up the second the game ended, the rest going to enjoy their Friday night as they pleased while Eren was stuck in the obligation with his three friends to have a drink with the ruggers, as Armin kept telling him to call them. Erwin had come up to the blond and brunet at the end of the game to invite them out, and Armin once again silenced himself around the man, leaving Eren to answer that they would be joining them. The coach seemed relieved for some reason, though he explained that it would be a half hour before the team would get there. 

The Scouts had won, though Eren still didn't understand the game or its points, except the ball passing was always to the side or backwards. The players practically ran off the field to the locker room, which seemed a bit odd. Erwin gave directions to the bar, and after the coach hesitantly left, Armin took the helm once again, and the four went to the car, packing away equipment in the trunk. As he left the parking lot, he took it upon himself to inform Jean and Marco of the recent potential date development against Eren's protests. Marco, the sweetheart, was gushing, while his counter part remained silent and grumpy the entire ride to the bar.

The horse, however, didn't stay that way long. Once they got inside the Wings of Freedom - a very large, nicely decorated, and ridiculously clean establishment -, Jean ordered drinks when the crew sat at the bar. They were already 2 shots and a beer in when the rugby team walked in, though it barely registered to Eren as the in depth debate raged on.

"Alright, are you seriously trying to tell me that in a fight between Wolverine and Captain America, neither would win? What the shit, Eren?!" Jean exclaimed, glaring at the brunet, who just glared back, "No. In an all out fight, there would be a victor, but the two would cancel each other out if it's the shield versus claws!"

"That makes no sense, at all! You can't just cancel each other out. Besides, Cap would win, hands down!"

Armin interjected, "Not really."

Jean looked betrayed, "You, turning on the Captain?" The blond scoffed, "Hardly, but I do recognize what Eren is saying, and agree." Marco chuckled softly to himself, knowing who was going to win this discussion now that Armin had moved from Switzerland status. As Jean was about to begin a lengthy rant, a familiar voice rose up behind them, "Are you guys discussing who would win in an ultimate smack down?"

The four twisted around to see the familiar messy hair and red frames of the Scout's physician, Dr. Zoe. Behind her, the rest of the team were crowding around the bar, though the coach and his two shadows, Levi and Mike, were the closest, drinks in hand and pulling up stools. Marco smiled at the eccentric but kind woman, "Hello Hanji! Currently debating Captain America vs. Wolverine, who has the most power in a fight. Jean says Captain. Eren is normally pro Wolverine, but is saying the two are negated. Where are you?"

Her eyes lit up and she grinned, "Oh, pro Wolverine, any day! But why do you say neutral?"

Eren took a sip of his beer before answering, "Adamantium."

It took only 2 seconds for her mouth to drop slightly, "Holy crap, you're right."

Jean waved his hand, scowling, "Whoawhoawhoa. That is only if the Cap uses the shield with the same force as Wolverine attacking."

Eren's voice rose above the barn animal, "No, the kinetic energy would negate. And if Cap didn't have his shield, Wolverine would win between the two of them."

"But Cap-" Eren leaned forward, eyes enlarging for effect, "Can die. Wolverine lives, forever!"

Marco pounded his empty shot glass like a gavel on the bar counter, "And the winner is Eren! Jean, you know what that means."

Eren was beaming as Jean's forehead landed on the counter with a drawn out groan of defeat. Grabbing the bartender's attention, the brunet asked as he handed over a slip of paper, "Can you make a half glass of grog, please?" Glancing at the list of items, the bartender nodded slowly, eyeing them strangely. Hanji laughed as he walked off to accomplish the request, Eren and the others swiveled on their stools to face them properly minus the despondent equine. She broached the topic, settling into her spot, "So, what are your rules."

Armin shrugged, "Depends. This time it was because he had multiple parties on his side. Next time it might be because of random category words used. Or references. The rules are random. Marco's rules are Marco's rules."

The freckled man beamed, and the bartender came back with a disgusted look on his face as he slid across the bar an 8 oz glass of toxic multicolored sludge with a festive orange paper umbrella sticking out the top. Jean pulled a long face, and Eren just had a shit eating grin, clinking his glass against the grog, "Bottoms up, Secretariat." Hazel eyes narrowed as a hand grasped the glass and he took out the little umbrella, wiping it on a napkin and sticking it Eren's hair like a flower, then knocked back the concoction. The others around them watched the scene, especially when the smell wafted over. Jean finished in record time, his face contorted, but managed to whisper loudly, "Oh, you dirty bastard, you added something."

Eren's grin widened as he giggled in delight, adjusting the umbrella to sit properly behind his ear. Marco clapped his hands, "Alright, round 2! Hanji, since you are new, you get to start off. Category is words."

The woman was vibrating in her seat, "Oh, gods, I am so happy to be among my people again! Ok, so, if you fell from a ridiculously high height and superman were to catch you-"

"You'd be sliced in half." Jean interrupted, but Hanji's smile became odd as she shook her head, "If he were to catch you on a planet with different gravity." Eren and Jean groaned, hating physics questions that dealt beyond their expertise, but Armin asked back, "What's the level of gravity?"

"More than the suns, less than the universe's core."

"Which quadrant?"

"DS 9."

"What's the weather?" His eyes narrowed on her, the other two as confused as the ruggers that had gathered around them on bar stools. Hanji shot back with a wicked grin,

"A lovely 26° C, blue skies and a solid 20° humidity."

Armin smirked, "Meta."

"Correct!"

Neither of the hot heads followed, but Marco tapped his gavel, "Eren, Jean, you are sentenced to the grog." Eren shouted, "What!? That made no fucking sense at all!" Jean contributed, equally frustrated, "Yeah! What does Superman catching someone have to do with Meta? I mean - oh. Well. Shit. She's right."

He faced Eren, arching a brow at him as his own brain caught up to the joke. Understanding lit up the teal eyes, and he turned to Hanji, "Holy Shwartz." Hanji laughed boisterously, "I prefer to be called the Force."

Armin called the bartender over again, "Two more grogs and two more of their beers...actually, can you just make a bucket, so you don't have to keep making it?" The poor man glared but dipped his head. The conversation lulled while the waited, and one of the players beside them loudly told a story about his wife and new born child and a cat, but the bartender was back much quicker this time. The losers raised their glasses to Hanji, placing the umbrellas in her hair, soberly stating, "Meta." before downing the liquid. Eren teared up a little after he finished, "Shit, that burns."

He took a swig of beer, glad to wash down the grog with alcohol. Marco smiled sweetly at the others nearby, "Would anyone else like to join the game?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fyi, the whole Meta thing, was them dicking around. There was no answer.
> 
> BACK TO THE FUTURE!!!!!!


	4. Changing the Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren makes the move, Levi is left out of sorts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, meant to have this out earlier, but laptop is unavailable, so if there are mistakes, blame my phone, and bad proofreading skills.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy!

How he got here was through a series of unconventional attempts at getting closer to the gorgeous brunet, but Levi currently had 5 paper umbrellas in his hair - it had taken him 2 umbrellas to figure out that it was a point system -, had drank that disgusting toxic sludge at least a dozen times, and was only buzzed from washing down the 'grog'. Half the team had joined the game, and he wasn't the only one losing, and the poor bartender had already created 8 buckets at this point.

This was strangely one of the best fucking nights of his life without being drunk or forced into socializing.

The nerds were winning, though the ruggers had some solid wins under their belts. Most importantly, Eren was obviously having a blast, laughing and smiling, talking animatedly while those glowing eyes occasionally teased Levi with glances accompanied by shy smiles or smug grins. Fuck, he hadn't even had a conversation with the gamer and he could tell any self respect he had was slipping away and leaving him a puddle of mush for this tanned god placed on a bar stool like it was his throne.

Marco tapped the shot glass gavel once more on the counter, calling an end to the latest topic, "Alright. Deadpool supporters win, everyone else gets the grog." Half the group groaned while others cheered. Levi was sadly a loser by default, due to having no position in the discussion. The drinks were handed out, and he chugged the abomination to get it over with quickly, then started taking out his hair decor. Armin, Arlert's first name, commented curiously, "Levi, did you not like Deadpool? I honestly thought that character would be up your alley."

Shaking his head as he swept back his hair, the older of the two supplied, "I haven't really seen any of the new movies." Jean gave an obvious snort, "No wonder you suck."

This earned him two hits upside the back of his head by Eren and Hanji, making the horse grumble as he rubbed it. "Bad horse!" Hanji scolded, and Eren barked a sharp laugh, adding, "Can't take him anywhere, this thoroughbred of sin." Shitty Glasses guffawed, clapping Eren's shoulder. The two had been chummy all night, and while Levi was jealous of how easy she got along with him and the others, he was not at all surprised. She goes out of her way to make anyone her friend, forcing them to accept her.

"So, Eren, about what we were discussing earlier, I have to ask, do you have the squishy bits to help with the proposed problem?"

Eren's grin changed, eyes showing his momentary confusion before crinkling in the corners for some reason as his expression vaulted into something almost determined, playful. "How is the problem usually approached?"

"Oh, no, the problem usually persists. Quick silver speeds, too."

Those teal eyes widened briefly, "Never? And would the problem be averse to, say, being introduced to liquid nitrogen for a little?"

She shook her head, placing her empty bottle on the bar, "It likes to be an aggressive pain in the ass, but I think it is willing to cool the engine for you."

The way he cocked his head a little to the side with a playful grin made Eren appear both as an innocent puppy and also aware that he was a full on tease. His voice seemed smug and pleased with himself, "So, no one's tried?"

"Nope, but it's usually attracted to lesser forms and viruses. This is the first time it's been halted in its progression of a higher being." Hanji smirked, leaning her hip against Eren's, and the two shared a look as he seemed to come to a decision, "Huh. Guess I need to change it up then."

Everyone had been watching the verbal volley, and Levi was beyond lost.

Until Eren turned that grin at the captain, coy and playful with eyes bright in the dim light of the bar and...

_Oh_

He felt a heat building up in his stomach and fought to control his face but was quickly losing that battle.

 **Levi** was the problem.

The brunet asked softly, but obviously confident as his eyes bored into Levi's, unwavering, "Hey, Levi, can I see your phone real quick?"

The raven somehow maintained functionality, and kept his movements slow so he wouldn't drop his mobile, unlocking it before passing it over to the extended hand. Without even looking at anyone, he could tell his teammates were grinning and preparing to give him shit once the gaming crew were out of sight, knowing Levi would eviscerate any of them if they interfered with this particular courting. That was _not_ going how he planned but that's ok for the moment because he was getting the brat's number. His friends had been witness to many of his attempts at getting dates, but this was...new. Normally it took a lot more chatting up or them playing hard to get, but this certainly was a nice development.

Eren quickly typed something away, holding the phone awkwardly, probably due to the shitty lighting and the phone screen. His friends were standing now, Armin paying the tab with a hefty tip to the bartender that had been gracious enough to go out to the convenience store to get supplies for the grog. This was the general signal that they were making an exit, and upon checking Erwin's watch beside him, Levi noted that it was almost 2 in the fucking morning, and no one was drunk, but smiles all around and the atmosphere light.

Handing back the phone, Eren's cocky grin stole a piece of Levi's little black heart.

"So, free tomorrow?"

Levi managed not to choke on his spit, but all moisture seemed to have left his mouth suddenly for no reason. He managed a nod, unable to trust his voice to be higher than a school girl soprano at the moment. The angel decided to have mercy on him, "Alright, tomorrow, you get to receive an education in movies beyond the 90's. Everyone, good night, it's been awesome. See you next week, Hanji."

The guys gave various farewells, most sporting shit eating grins that they had just observed something absolutely embarrassing for their stoic and normally scowling captain. The rowdy physician had already exchanged numbers with them earlier, and waved them all good bye with a flailing arm that almost hit Mike in the face. Just as the four were out the door, a cacophony rose up around him, Mike punching him in the arm and Erwin nudging him with an elbow, some commenting, but majority poking while exaggerating 'oooohhhhhhh'. Even the bartender had a half grin as he was cleaning up the counter, accepting empty glasses and bottles. It was a fucking annoyance, until his phone chimed above the noise.

Sliding it open, he saw an unknown number, along with a picture of himself sitting on a bar stool not 2 minutes ago, looking fuking shy and overwhelmed, red cheeks glaringly obvious. Oh gods, what made it even worse was the caption,

 **You look good in red, too. Also, never deleting this.**

There was a goddamn winky face.

Hoping to throw off the attention at least for a second, he growled at Hanji, her entire visage amused, "What the hell was that all about?"

She shrugged, her smiling turning Cheshire as she caught sight of the phone screen, "That, my grumpy lump of sugar, was him asking you out on a date. Or at least a movie date." He glared, though it had no effect on her, "I kind of figured that out on my own, I meant everything...else!?" He waved a hand sporadically at her, not even sure how to describe all that had transpired. Or even what the hell he himself meant. She ruffled his hair, though he swatted her nasty hand away, "You have just gone through the beginning stage of the nerd mating rituals. And you're welcome, by the way. I want it on record that I was on point as your wingman tonight, because everyone else was a failure, especially you, Erwin. Don't think I didn't notice those eyebrows going haywire and out of focus. And Levi, don't forget, one of your children is to be named after me, because that's happening."

Hanji stared between Levi and Erwin, eyes gleaming and suspicious of both, respectively. The captain could not deny that she had, in fact, been playing his wingman. The fact that it was going to be held over his head for the rest of his life was buried away for the time being.

The group trickled out after paying tabs, and Levi receiving an inordinate amount of shit, they all seperated for the weekend. Sitting in his car, feeling energy that he shouldn't at this hour, he tugged his phone out of his back pocket, sliding the screen open. His heart was acting like it was running a marathon, and he could feel his nerves being set on fire, screaming their synapses off, and fuck, did he need to calm down. Because telling himself would actually make it happen. It would be real fucking nice if it would.

Rapidly fired off a message with what balls he could muster up, he leaned back in his seat after he sent it.

Why was everything so different? He clearly had the upper hand earlier today, leaving Eren a cute red tomato before the game. Levi had initiated but then Eren did the follow through. In front of everyone without batting an eye. Recalling the brunet's conversation about the _problem_ aka Levi, it dawned on him that Hanji admitted that he did the chasing, in some odd way. And Eren had decided that he wasn't going to wait on the rugger. His heart decided to pole vault at the prospect that for once in his fucking life, he wasn't doggedly pursuing someone. That someone potentially wanted him enough to make the first move.

There may have been a need to double check if he was still even breathing again.

**DING!**

The chime of the phone in the dead silence of his car was a sufficient test, and he fumbled with the mobile for a second as he unlocked it. The message was from Eren's unknown number.

**Good night, you brat.**

**Good night, Levi. Sleep well, because when the movies start, they never stop.**

He huffed a laugh, feeling that warmth in his chest again.

Not bad.

-gap-

Exiting the shower, he guickly wiped himself down with a nearby towel, and wrapped it around his waist. It was almost 11 in the morning, and he had only a couple minutes to get ready before driving over to Eren's. Despite going to bed late, Levi's body operated as if it didn't have only 3 hours of sleep and demanded to go through its daily routine even with his off day. He woke with a restlessness that he could only contribute to his date. Said date had texted him at around 8, providing an address and directions, as well as informing Levi to not eat lunch and wear comfortable clothing for the movie marathon.

Feeling awkward with everything planned by another, that someone else other than himself was holding the reigns, Levi had nonchalantly begged for Eren to give him something to do or provide. The brunet had thrown him a bone, stating to bring one of his own favorite snacks and any drink he particularly liked to have. His date had also inquired if the captain was allergic to dogs. Levi wasn't, but they tended to be slobbering messes and stink in his opinion. A few of his exes had yappy, puntable dogs that annoyed the rugger to no end, though oddly enough the canines preferred Levi to their owners. Hell, he may have liked the dogs more than their owners, in the end.

Now he was faced with the dilemna of what to wear. Eren said movies, at his house, and be comfy. He didn't know if what that meant. Pjs? Sweats? Loose jeans?

This was partly why Levi normally took control, he knew what was happening, could plan for it.

He figured this was going to be a PG rated date, he kept going over Hanji and Eren's banter last night during his workout routine and quick trip to the store, trying to decipher it. Had no clue what quick silver was, but liquid nitrogen, he could understand that easily; Eren was asking if Levi would cool off, go at a slow pace.

Despite this coming across as an innocent teenage first date, along with it came the nerves and anxiety too. Shit, even when he was a teenager he didn't get as wound up like now. He felt ridiculous, but no way was he not going. So, if Eren wanted slow, Levi would go glacier.

Grumbling to himself, he grabbed simple boxers, black jeans, and a loose grey t shirt, fulfilling the comfy quota. He didn't know Eren well enough to show up in anything else. Fuck, what about what Eren wore? Before he could second guess, he swiped pair of basketball shorts from the drawer and tromped out of his bedroom and down the stairs to the foyer where his bag, wallet, and keys were waiting. Locking up behind himself, sitting in his long driveway was his dark silver old school mustang, placing the bag carefully in the passenger seat. The directions already mapped out on his phone, he plugged it into his stereo. The engine purred to life and he left the gated community with a wave at the guard at the front. He put on a random playlist, not wanting to deal with adverts on the radio, hoping to stop his stupid over pumping heart _for one minute._

It was just movies. With a very cute nerdy man who laughed from his core and smiled all stupid and goregous. The guy didn't even know a damn thing about Levi's sport - if last night's many topics and trivia were any indicator, and the brunet always lost sports - but potentially, he wanted to get to know the rugger.

Hanji hadn't lied, Levi did the chasing, but that was because no one ever came to him. Every single ex had flirted and hinted, but waited for the raven to make the move, to establish interest. Obviously, those relationships failed, but for various reasons. It was either Levi's humor and 'general attitude' was off putting, or that they didn't have an interest in dating Levi, rather dating him for aspects of himself, so they could be popular little WAGs. Sports, money, physical attraction, those were the common core of why they agreed to date him. Why they strung him around, more than half he found out were cheating, or their friends let slip about the 'money not being worth hanging around that asshole' when they thought he wasn't in hearing range. And the lying. They always lied.

He didn't know Eren, but the guy was so expressive that he probably couldn't hide anything for long. And fuck, did Levi hope he read him right, and that he was at least interested.

He really needed to stop this tirade in his head, it wasn't helping.

The mustang eventually rolled up to a small stone and white washed one story house with a dark stained fenced in backyard, and the front well maintained, though plain. It was in a pleasant neighborhood, none of the kids seemed to fear Levi's approaching vehicle like they should as they ran around like headless twerps, and all the surrounding homes were well cared for. Parking in the 2 car driveway to reduce the chances of bikes and balls hurting his baby, he exited out of his car with bag in hand, he took a deep breath.

The walk up was short, and he debated whether to knock or ring the bell, deciding on the bell. Not even 15 seconds later, several pairs of feet could be heard scurrying to the door, a muffled voice, and then the door was opening to reveal that idiotic pretty smile and bright teal eyes. Thankfully, the other was dressed in dark jeans and a simple dark green graphic tee sporting a triangle with wings.

"Hey! You're early!" Levi blinked, glancing down at his watch, the delicious smells of pasta wafting out from the house.

Wondered how he hadn't been pulled over for a ticket, he was 20 minutes early.

"I honestly hadn't been paying attention to the time." He stated, hoping that wasn't an issue, or points deducted, or whatever the fuck scale Eren used to gauge him.

His increasing distress was eased by Eren's smile turning warmer, if that was possible, opening the door farther. "That's fine. Lunch is still cooking, so you'll have to wait a bit longer." He waved a hand to indicate entry and the rugger followed suit. Apparently, Eren was not a heathen, and kept his shoes by the front door, as shown by the multitude of sneakers, converse, and dress shoes. Eren held out a hand and Levi passed over the bag as he unlaced his boots. The host waited for him, and then walked down the short hall to an open area passed the entry way.

"Alright, this is the living room. And this is Rogue. He is friendly when he warms up to you, so if he mean mugs, ignore him."

Standing erect on the cream carpet of the soft blue room, eyeing Levi with sharp golden eyes, was a sentinel.

"Big ass dog."

He didn't even know he had said it out loud until laughter erupted beside him and gold eyes shifted from him to its owner, and he followed suit. Eren's laugh died as quickly as it was born, but Levi could see him relax just a little, "Yeah, when I got him, he was just big enough to fit in my hand, the pound guys said he was a mutt, so I figured he'd be medium sized. Turns out, I was wrong."

Glancing back at the monstrosity, Levi could not see the canine as being tiny. "What the fuck did you feed him? Steroids with a side of a whole cow?"

Shit, he was an idiot, he knew better than to be open his mouth in the first 5 minutes. Save it for half time. The brunet, however, didn't seem offended, actually the corner of his eyes crinkled in mirth,

"Also the blood of my enemies."

Levi snorted, "Did they figure out what they spliced him with at the lab?"

That smile brightened, "Some breed that is fairly new, an alsatian, they are supposed to look like dire wolves. Have you ever met a dog before?"

Blue-grey eyes glared lightly at Eren, who turned sheepish, a light blush dusting his cheeks, "Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant do you know how to introduce yourself?" With a nod, Eren pulled out a treat from his back pocket and handed it over to the raven, "Alright, let him sniff your hand and give him that. He'll warm up faster."

"Bribery?" Levi quirked a brow. The brunet grinned mischievously, "Neither of us are above it. I'll go check on lunch."

His date spun on his heel and walked into the open arch way to the kitchen, and Levi admired him until he heard a snuff. He suppressed the need to jump at the fact the extra large canine was quiet as a ninja, and was now sitting directly in front of Levi, his head lining up just below the ruggers sternum. Eyes baring into Levi's soul. He stated, staring back at the mutt,

"So...I like your dad. Please don't fucking eat me, or I will give you the worst case of indigestion in your shitty life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed this chapter a little more, just because it leads into their first time really interacting. And because I really wanted to hint at one of my fav brotp - Erehan. Pretty much everyone is my brotp. Except Nile. Fuck Nile.
> 
> Please tell me your thoughts, and if I have any corrections that need to be made. Doing this by phone is awkward.


	5. Sunsets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first 'date'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I am republishing this chapter because I had a couple adjustments that needed to be made when read through it all over again. It still doesn't feel completely right, but I think it is a little more understandable this time.
> 
> **Thank you for the love, it honestly makes my day to see those kudos and comments. It makes me happy to see that people are reading (and maybe liking) what I have to write.**
> 
> **Thank you for spending the time reading, especially late into the night or waking up early in the morning just so you can finish what you started. Trust me, I am right there with you.**
> 
> Sidebar - It came to my attention via a friend, that I am apparently coming across as rude to commentators, and if I have been, I am so sorry. She said that most authors on here write back to everyone, but I am a weirdo, and did not realize that was a thing. I just don't know what to say most of the time, especially if its about updates. Don't get me wrong, they make my day to see those encouragements, but I don't have much to say other than thank you, which makes me feel awkward for not having anything else to say.
> 
> This chapter was originally written completely differently, but I jumped ahead a couple chapters in writing, and this one needed to be adjusted to fit that one, thus the timing, and this was...not smoother, but felt realistic, in comparison to the other one. It was also to show bits of their individuality - that I think I did ok on - and it was, to me, enjoyable. 
> 
> Almost made it to 5000 words this chapter. The original that I nixed was barely 3000.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it too!

Eren bit his lip to stop from laughing at hearing his guest talk to Rogue. It was really cute, bordering on adorable, as he caught the two in a stare off out of the corner of his eye. Stirring the pasta and sauce, he then went about placing the garlic bread in the oven to melt the cheese and toast the dough.

It was a little surprising how early Levi had arrived, but punctuality was a good thing, made up for Eren's lack thereof. Not that he didn't try, shit just happened. Going to Levi's bag to pull out the items that the raven haired man had begged to contribute, he was intrigued. A small baggy of tea leaves, two boxes of short bread, and a strange bag of chips that reminded him of taquitoes. And a bouquet of carefully wrapped flowers.

They were expensive, or at least they looked like it, still fresh, beautiful pink camellias and white lilies, the scent mild but pleasing, and he liked it. It was a very sweet gesture, and not the typical and standard roses of 'hope I get laid'.

"Levi?" He turned to face the two still in their stare off, but the rugger shoved the hand holding the treat at the beast as he faced Eren, those slate blue - grey eyes zeroing in on the flowers in Eren's hands. His already pale complexion blanched and shoulders tensed, "I...um, shit. I wasn't intending to be insulting." He paused, but Eren shook his head, smiling at him, "It's not. I think they're lovely. Thank you." Levi's shoulders slumped in relief, making the brunet curious, probing, "If you don't mind, why did you think I would be offended?"

The raven scratched the back of his undercut, obviously uncomfortable, but answered, "A few guys I dated in the past, they didn't take well to it. I guess they thought I was being emasculating?"

Eren couldn't stop himself from frowning. What kind of idiot thought the gesture of giving flowers was offensive? He himself had only received a few in his life, and it was an endearing gift. Especially given the obvious care to preserve the blooms that were taken. It also made him feel good about what he has hiding in the fridge.

"Well, I'm pro flowers, just expect the same treatment from me. My mom always told me to give flowers, no matter the gender. She loved them, half the yard was her personal garden. She was that lady that just handed neighborhood kids flowers."

Those eyes looked silver as they flickered back up, the sharp face relaxing enough to give the brunet a hint of a potential smile as the shorter male replied softly, "Mine always told me that too."

Just hearing something so personal from the man with the supposed rough exterior warmed up Eren's chest. His tone gentled unconsciously, "I'm going to find something for this. You can join me in the kitchen, if you want?"

Levi didn't even hesitate to trail after him, sitting down at an offered bar stool at the counter that jutted out from the wall. Eren turned to stretch into a cabinet, finding a black porcelain pitcher that his sister could never sell at her shop and handed off to him, only to be buried away into his kitchen. It wasn’t exactly a vase, but it was aesthetically pleasing in an odd way. He filled it with water and found a penny to sink into the liquid, arranging the flowers to not lose their form or hurt the leaves. Returning to inspecting their lunch, the silence that spread between them was pleasant, not strained as it normally would be with strangers. Levi was still his date and guest though,

“Would you like some tea, or do you want to save it for later?”

Those must have been magic words because it was like a light was switched on inside the other male, who nodded, “Yes.”

It nearly sounded like there was enthusiasm behind his monotone voice, and that made Eren smile to himself as he moved to grab the kettle from the counter and poured water in, placing it on the burner. He inquired, facing the raven, “How strong, and any add ins?” Levi quirked a brow, not expecting the question, but responded, “Full steep time, and no add ins.”

“Mind if I just put it in the pot and steal some then?” The rugger’s mouth quirked slightly, “Go for it.”

Opening the baggy, the brunet took a whiff of the loose leaves, enjoying the scent. Earl Grey. He pulled out a teapot as he asked, “So, exactly how old are you?”

Leaning on the counter with his forearms, Levi honestly looked like he should have been a model, those livid eyes trained on Eren, “31. You?”

“24.”

He was half prepared for another puberty joke but Levi seemed to be going somewhere else with this, though the growing smirk on his face made him suspect that the raven had at least thought about it. “Birthday?’’

“March 30th. Yours?”

“Decemeber 25th.” Eren cringed. 

“Yule? That sucks, Does everyone conveniently forget your birthday?”

The shrug he received as answer was telling enough. He plowed on as he transferred the whistling kettle off the burner and filled the pot. 

“What got you into rugby?” Levi stiffened momentarily, but answered, a glance to the side to see that Rogue had placed himself at the edge of the kitchen, not allowed inside when Eren was cooking. 

“I…was into some bad shit, when I was a teenager. Dropped out of high school freshman year, worked as a mechanic and as a driver for a gangs chop shop. Me, Farlan, and our friend Isabel. We were kind of half in the gang, half out of it, so we didn’t really do any of the more illegal stuff, even though they kept trying to drag us into it. One time, we got caught in a raid on the chop shop, and the three of us were sent to juvie,” he paused, licking his bottom lip nervously, but Eren didn’t say anything, keeping his expression neutral. It’s not like he had much of right to judge. The only reason he hadn’t ended up in juvenile detention or jail was because of his friends. Levi continued on, once finding that Eren wasn’t going to kick him out upon receiving this information.

“They had a sports program there, run by these college kids. Erwin was actually the one who convinced Farlan and I to try rugby, and apparently we were good enough to impress some people. After we got out, he found us a way to get a solid place away from the slums and the gang life, including Iz, and we got our GEDs and part time jobs. Eventually, when he got leeway as an assistant coach, he had Farlan and I try out for the pros. And we’ve been in the Scouts since.”

After Levi finished, filling the air once again with silence, Eren finally moved, pouring two large mugs with TMNT decals on them, extending the glassware over to the other male sitting at his counter. With the tea he offered a friendly, genuine smile, hoping to diffuse the tension a little, “Thank you for telling me. Sucks that you had it rough, but I’m glad life is treating you better, now.”

The raven was taken aback, if the wide eyes were anything to go off of, but a single dip of his head was returned in silent gratitude. He added, as if bashful, “It’s not like it isn’t common knowledge.”

Eren felt that odd clenching in his chest again, the one he associated with adorable and endearing. He teased, “Thanks all the same. It’s good to know that you’re a Marty.” 

That earned a snort, but Levi’s face broke out into a grin, “Are you implying that two Marty’s make a right?”

Despite the horrible line, it made Eren burst out laughing, enough that he had to place his mug on the counter. It petered down to a giggle, as he looked back at his date who appeared absolutely pleased with himself. The brunet’s smile brightened, “Oh, that was just bad, Levi.”

Another half shrug, but Levi’s smug expression didn’t lessen. Eren went back to preparing lunch, rummaging for plates and utensils before he began draining the pasta. Dividing out portions, his date questioned, “So, what made you want to design video games?”

It was an inevitable question, as he had asked after Levi’s, but he wasn’t sure how to really talk about it without going into a fit of anger, which was a decidedly poor idea on a date. He supplied, hoping to make the topic boring, “Nothing glorious. I played a lot of games to get away from shit in reality. And I’ve always been good at art. I…I like making something appear from nowhere, just whatever I imagined. It has a sort of magic to it that appeals to me, and I found any form of medium to get it out an enjoyable process. So, I wanted to apply that to games, maybe take someone else’s mind off of whatever they were running from for a while.”

There was no amount of appreciation that could be expressed when Levi didn’t press for details, but instead chose to latch onto something else, “Do you stick with just graphic art, or do you use other media?”

Eren mulled over the question, because it was like asking which was his favorite child. All of them had a distinct attraction. “I do a bit of everything. It just depends on what I feel like for each piece. Some feel like they need to be a painting, or charcoal, sometimes I like to sculpt, or use my computer and tablet. I stick with the classics, I’m not as adventurous as some. It’s best if I stay away from glue and yarn and macaroni.”

“Kindergarten must have sucked.” The raven said with an amused expression, and the gamer couldn’t disagree. “During nap time one day, I may have glued yarn and macaroni all over the horse, umm, Jean, the one that got hit at your practice. Everyone was pissed, but I apparently looked at my mom and said I made him look pretty. I am talking yarn and macaroni in his hair, on his skin, on his clothes. And I _may_ have found the teachers stash of gorilla glue, not the basic Elmer's.”  
He heard a muffled chuckle from behind him, and saw Levi with his mouth covered as the corners of his eyes crinkled a little, “You don’t fuck around, do you?”  
Eren returned a cheeky grin, doling out the sauce now, “Nope. That was what I like to call revenge art. Jean had been an ass the day before, picking on a friend of mine, and well, I don’t take kindly to that behavior. It became a regular thing. Though, college was more of stress relieving than revenge art.”

“Dick pics?” Levi ventured. Eren scoffed, poorly acting in fake offence, “Please, that is for amateurs. I put murals on him, or pieces that I just felt like making. For most of our freshman and sophomore year, people thought he had those fake tattoo sleeves or shirts, because I would keep making new ones. One time, he spent the entire day actually looking like a horse face that I had painted. It was a bit disturbing. And he didn’t even know about it because everyone called him horse.”

His date was thoroughly entertained by the way he leaned closer, eyes never leaving Eren. “Is everyone else spared from this?”

“Oh, no, I do it to everyone, even my sister, Jean is just the easiest target. Especially when we are drunk, and it helps that he takes naps all the time. Our coworkers at least enjoy it when he walks around as an art board, and our boss claims it boosts morale, especially when Jean is painted up like a t-rex and stomps around like one..” Levi hummed softly, watching Eren bring the bread out of the oven, the steam hitting his face as the elder of the two changed topics, “Speaking of work, you don’t know a thing about rugby, do you?”

There was no way to stop himself from blushing out of embarrassment, ready to apologize for some inane reason, but the mirth in those blue-grey eyes told him that Levi wasn’t insulted. Letting the bread cool down, he searched the drawers for the serrated knife. “Not really. I haven’t had a chance to read up on the rules and procedures since this was dropped on me. I normally work in fantasy, sci fi, or history genres.” 

“Why’d they toss it on you, then?” Embellishing their plates with shredded cheese after getting a non verbal confirmation from Levi when he had pulled out the dairy, he responded, “My predecessor, Shadis, recommended me for it. And since my team just finished our last project, they jumped at us to take it. Even if it was with no prep or information. And I want to throat punch some of the people in the Rugby League. They practically expect the whole thing done already, but any time I try to contact them, they give me the run around to set up schedules to meet with the other teams.”

Levi grunted low in empathy, “Yeah, it’s a fucking pain to get them to move their asses…is it hard, jumping genres?” Cutting the bread, he placed the two halves on the full plates and brought them over to the counter, sliding one over to the raven who glanced at it with interest. Eren replied, handing over the utensils and a paper towel, “Not so much as hard, as it is trying to meet the client’s requests and expectations, while they try to control everything but reject all our proposals. I’m used to making my rules in games, but with set rules, it’s difficult.”

“Set rules?” The raven asked, setting aside his utensils as the steam from their plates carried the mouth watering scent of the spices and herbs. Eren mixed his around to give the pasta a chance to let out steam, “Yeah, um…you’re the captain, right?”

A dip of the head affirmed his suspicions. He went on, “So, as captain, you need to know where all your players are on the field. You have set rules, predetermined movements, but also unpredictable movements and variables that come into play. You know the difference of what is and isn’t supposed to happen. Right now, we don’t understand these rules or movements, so it’s hard trying to begin programming or designing the game when we aren’t sure what exactly is happening on your playing field – er, pitch. Armin is researching it, but it’s going to take a while to understand what exactly is going on. We want to make sure the player gets an authentic and realistic view of the game.”

“So, you need a cipher?” The rugger hazard a guess, taking a sip from the mug. Only now did Eren see the odd way he was holding it, fingers clutching around the rim, and he wondered how that was possible since it was fairly heavy even without the liquid inside it. Mentally shaking off the train of thought, he went back to the topic. “Yeah. I mean, I haven’t really had the time to read any of the information I’ve looked up, and I’ve found all these dictionaries for jargon, but it’s been busy this past week.”

“Are you coming back for more filming?”

“Eventually, I’m in meetings all of the next three weeks or on mini road trips to go visit a few other teams that are near this area. The league wants us to do some small local teams on top of the official teams. Why?”

“Well, next time you guys come to practice, we can show you plays and movements, and explain the basics and jargon for you. If you’d like?” The offer was stated with an air of nonchalance, but those eyes told him just how far from indifferent the suggestion was meant to be. That was almost a month out, but Levi was planning for his presence to be continued in the brunet’s world, if Eren was reading the intention correctly. Worrying his lip, he bit back the small smile that wanted to show for the raven. “I’d like that.” He cleared his throat, twirling up some pasta now that it had relatively cooled, “Ok, today, you are to begin your education, sir.”

Levi didn’t mention the awful segue, just following Eren’s lead of preparing to eat, “What are we watching?”

“Depends. You’ve obviously seen at least the first Back to the Future. Seen any of the Star Wars or Star Trek?” He took the first bite of food as Levi bobbed his head, “Yeah. All of them, including the recent ones. Hanji makes it a point to invade my home and make me watch certain movies or tv shows with her, though she tends to stick with the older stuff.”

“So, the old action movies, John Hues films, Indiana Jones and Lord of the Rings?”

“All of them. And the Hobbit.” The rugger was still waiting on his food to cool, but Eren didn’t mind. He could handle his food to be the temperature of Mount Doom due to years of impatience. It was pleasing to know that he wouldn’t have to start from nothing, at least. He honestly wouldn’t know where to begin. 

“Has she reached any of the Marvel or DC movies?” 

The blank stare he got told him no, but he had to double check, thinking of the better known associations. “DC is Superman and Batman, the whole Justice League universe. Marvel is Avengers and X-Men.”

“I might have seen them? At least the old Superman ones. It is confusing as fuck.”

Eren nodded solemnly, “All of them are. Doesn’t help that they’ve screwed around with things and can't seem to stick to a story line, but that’s beside the point. I think today we will start with Marvel. Your choice is between Avengers or X-Men.”

“Who was that Dead Pool guy that Arlert mentioned?” 

Grinning, Eren gushed, “He is awesome, but he’s something of a mix. We should save him for last after seeing both, just because his films are by far the most enjoyable.”

“Which one can be finished today?”

“Neither. Today is just day 1.” Eren quipped, taking another mouthful of the pasta. Levi produced a quiet choking sound as he stirred the noodles, but the brunet ignored it in favor of looking at his own plate. It was presumptuous to already be planning other dates when this one had hardly began, but this was by far the nicest guy – even with the resting bitch face, and sarcasm that Eren suspected flowed through his veins – who had approached him. With the best, most terrible pick up line ever, to one of Eren’s all time favorite films. 

“Ok, side bar, how did you know that I didn’t know what rugby was?” Eren questioned, wondering what gave it away. Levi grinned, “Last night. All the questions related to sports, especially rugby, were completely lost on you. You called a scrum a huddle.”

Eren groaned softly but his date huffed a breath of a laugh. 

The rugger wasn’t Eren’s cookie cutter type. The coach, Erwin, and several of the other players were; tall, usually tan, built like Captain, blond, with a charming smile. Those were his usual slice. All turned into assholes in under two dates, if not from the start. And Levi was completely not that. Probably a little bit of an asshole, but, not the same as the others? He didn’t know how to describe it, but the feeling was different, and Eren could honestly say he was an ass too, so it wasn’t like there was any room for – ok, _breath_.

He took a long inhale from his nose, still chewing his mouthful, mindful of manners as he reordered his thoughts. With a peek up through his eyelashes, he noticed the tips of Levi’s ears darken to reveal just a hint of red, and that alleviated some of his thoughts.

Levi was sweet. Rogue thus far liked him, which was a big deal. The raven was respectful, and went with the flow at the moment, taking it in stride that Eren was lead, which was a bigger deal than the shorter man would ever know. Surprisingly, he was easy to talk to.

So, screw whatever rule said that the first date decided everything. If all else and they went dud, Eren wanted to be friends with the guy who was so terrified of insulting Eren by giving him a gorgeous bouquet, which he honestly couldn’t quite get over. Adjusting himself as he stood across from the other man, he leaned down with his forearms on the counter, his back a little sore from staying up all night gaming. Levi quietly cleared his throat, the pink that had spread to his cheeks was cute. The rugger finally took a bite of his meal, and the brunet was fairly certain the captain might be game for a second date based on the delighted expression on his features. Those slate blue-grey eyes were staring at him again, 

“Whose soul did you sell to cook this good?”

Eren smirked coyly, “The Three Sisters.” Levi gave him an incredulous look, and he added, “I can be very persuasive.”

He heard a mumbled, “I can believe that” as Levi took another bite, but the younger of the two wasn't offended. After finishing another mouthful of his own, he elaborated, “My mother taught my sister and I. I’ve also taken a few cooking classes. Do a lot of improvising. I have a habit of accidentally giving myself food poisoning when it comes to chicken, no matter how many lessons I take.”

The smooth, deep chuckle he received for admitting the truth was worth it. Levi’s laugh and voice, hell, his presence was calming, steady, and exciting, like little sparks that skipped down his spine.

“Well, not going to lie, you’ve ruined my normal diet.” The rugger didn’t look to upset with it, though. Eren mocked gently, “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like me to get you a baby carrot?”

“As you should be, but you’re callousness is unappreciated,” he stated, acting petulant, “I’m just going to be rolling all over the pitch.”

“If you want, I could make you a blueberry pie?” Eren snickered, but Levi set a dead glare in his direction, “Don’t tempt me, seductress.”

Again, laughter bubbled out, it was just so easy with this man who sassed with such a straight face. They returned to the meal, polishing it off in an easy silence. Levi insisted on helping clean the dishes and putting away the food, and what would normally take 10 minutes took maybe 3 with his efficiency and the scrubbing power of Mr. Clean himself. Finished, Eren led them back to the living room again, directing the raven to the bathroom down the hall while he grabbed the movies for the night. Once Levi rejoined him, sitting on the couch, Rogue hopped up as he made his chaperone status known, laying between them with his upper torso sprawled out on the rugger’s lap. Levi took it in stride, already petting the mutt behind the ears, and Eren got the tv ready.

“Ok, we’re starting with X-Men. Do you want explanations along the way, or silence?” An odd look was cast his way, but Levi seemed apathetic, “It would probably be helpful to do a play-by-play so I know what I’m watching. It’s made up of a bunch of characters, isn’t it?”

Nodding, Eren asked, “Would you like diagrams to go with this cluster fuck of confusion?”

Levi snorted, “It might help.”

The raven probably thought he was joking.

Eren was not. 

After four movies and many pauses, with white boards heavily drawn on with timelines and character associations, Eren finally called for a break and late dinner, which to Levi’s surprise, he made an entirely new dish that was a little healthier this time. It consisted of a massive salad filled with random veggies and bits of avocado and bacon, and fruits were set to the side. Rogue did not appreciate being left out, but received his dinner and a trip outside while Eren made their third pot of tea, and Levi absorbed the information that Eren threw at him. As they wound down, the brunet cleaning off the dishes, he asked,

“Do you feel like another, or is that enough for today?” Levi replied after stacking the last of the Tupperware in the fridge, “I think my head needs a break. Besides, you said this was just day 1, right?”

His cheeks burned at the reminder of his slip from earlier. “Ugh, yeah, I just didn’t know if you would be up for it…I know this isn’t exactly a normal date. At all.” With a slight wave of his hand, Levi replied, “It kind of reminds of those middle school dates from the movies, with a chaperone.” Eren opened his mouth but the rugger quickly asserted, “I don’t mind, Eren. You’re right, this is not what I’m used to, but…this was actually a lot more fun than most dates I’ve been on. Different, but not bad.”

One of his canines caught his lip, feeling the need to give at least a partial disclaimer and explanation, scratching the back of his neck as he gravitated towards the fridge. “I - this might be tmi, and a real downer for the end of the night, but…my last relationship went really sour, and the few attempted first dates with anyone since then were pretty shit too. And as you know, I went for Biffs, so…”

In the back of his head, he knew it was probably a repellent to mention exes, and especially to let the other think he was against the idea of dating in the first place, but he felt Levi had the right to at least be aware of where he was coming from. The shorter man, however, voiced what he wanted to say for him,

“You want to get to know me better, and go slow.”

He dipped his head anxiously to confirm the question underneath the statement. His date, while neutral, didn’t give the impression of being displeased at all. In fact, his posture relaxed a little as those eyes mixed into a shade of mercury, a small upward curl of his mouth that almost reached a smile,

“That’s ok with me. Especially if you cook. And keep the diagrams going.”

Eren released a puff of air that sounded like a laugh, opening the fridge to pull the flowers from the bottom drawer. Levi’s eyes enlarged at seeing the small bouquet with a vibrant array of blooms, his mouth dropping open a little as his ears burned that slight shade of red again. His stomach fluttered as the flowers were accepted with what he dare say was a little smile on Levi’s face, eyes set on the flora in hand before locking with Eren’s with an expression he couldn’t understand but made him smile brilliantly in return.

Maybe he could do this. 

Because that little smile was like seeing a sunset in its full glory, bringing colors to Levi’s face that he hadn’t noticed before, and it stole his breath away like a punch to the chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To any and all: 
> 
> Flirting is not always smooth, or connected, or makes sense when you try or someone else tries. For me, it is purely awkward. So, Eren is going to laugh at Levi's horrible but cute attempts. Levi is going to keep trying. It's how it works for these particular characters. 
> 
> Again, just because these dorks are flirting, doesn't mean it makes sense to you, or to each other. Don't judge them, they just want to make kissy faces at each other. 
> 
> I think I am going to be sticking to weekend updates, just because its the only time of the week I have to properly sit down and write and edit.
> 
> **If you see anything wrong, please tell me so I can edit it. I hate grammar (I am aware I tend to ignore rules in my writing, I always have. fucking prepositions), and proofreading for hours leads to missing things, or in my case, re writing whole chapters and they might not make sense.**
> 
> Til next time, I have Pokemon to catch, so I am actually being forced to go outside.

**Author's Note:**

> Like all writers, I exist solely on caffeine, self criticism, and love.  
> Send love. Or caffeine.  
> Love would be cheaper.  
> Just saying.


End file.
